Rusty's Custom Series II 5-string

[oddmetersam]

A truly fabulous instrument! I already figured you'd want the back of the neck's playing surface to be natural satin w/o the blueburst, but to to keep the neck natural all the way through the body is a great idea. At least once during every gig you should flash the back of the instrument to the crowd just to hear the Huzzah that ensues....

[rustyg61]

Thanks Sam! I do want the satin finish on the back of the neck, but it will be high gloss where it goes through the body. Here's a Photoshop mock up of what it will look like.
 

[5a_quilt_top]

Dude - you might want to consider changing your forum name to 10a quilt top...'cuz that top (and back) is at least twice as amazing as any 5a quilted maple that I've ever seen.
 
Also - did you go for the comfort taper on your 5-string neck?

[rustyg61]

Haha! Thanks David! My neck dimensions are custom, I gave Susan the measurements I wanted & they built it to my specs which are 34 scale, 1.77 at the nut, 2.5 at the 24th fret, & .9 thick (front to back) at the 7th fret. It feels very similar to the neck on my Rickenbacker 4001 as far as thickness. I like a thin neck!

[pauldo]

Rusty, it has been said before; but the backside picture in your post  # 1151 is certainly worthy of a WOW!
 
In fact I would say wowee wow wow.
 
Really nice!

[jon_jackson]

Are you placing the 5-pin and 1/4 connectors in the edge? Two of mine have that placement and it is pretty swell, leaving a clean front of beautiful wood.
Jon

[rustyg61]

Thanks Pauldo! This is with just one coat of sealer, imagine how amazing it's going to look with the high gloss clear coat on it!

[rustyg61]

Yes Jon, I am having the 5 pin & 1/4 jacks side mounted. Like you, I wanted a clean top with as few things on it as possible, so I'm side mounting the jacks & I also eliminated the pickup selector switch. I would never use it & it was just one more thing to clutter up the top. I can get the same function by turning down the volume knobs. The long jack you see in the picture is the side mounted 1/4 jack, so the challenge was to place the other controls where they wouldn't hit the 1/4 jack inside the electronics cavity. Mica came up with this layout & I loved it!

[jazzyvee]

On my series II I also have my sockets on the side and whilst it keeps the front clear of the cable it is more difficult to remove certain 5 pin sockets than others and I am concerned that the socket will eventually become loose in the bass.    I have two cables with this type of connector which are really difficult to remove and i feel that it is putting undue stress on the socket.  

 

  This type is fine and comes out of the socket easily so now I use this one on the S2 and the other on the S1.

  The difference may be manufacturing tolerances on the plug and the angle you need to get  your hand to pull out the cable. The front mounted socket is far easier to deal with.  I think if I was specifying a side mount socket I would have it mounted on a metal plate that would make it easier to pull it without stressing the socket. jazzyvee

[David Houck]

Beautiful quilts!  This is going to be a great bass!

[rustyg61]

Jazzyvee, Mica told me that they are now extending the edge of the 5 pin socket just beyond the edge of the wood instead of flush with the wood like they have done in the past. I think that may make it easier to get the connector aligned when plugging it in. Not sure if it will help when removing the connector or not. I just ordered cable & the Neutrik connectors that Jimmy Johnson uses to build his cables, so I will build me a spare 5 pin cable, probably in a shorter length than the 20' cable that comes with the bass. Some of my gigs need the 20' cable, but some I'm never more than 10' away from my amp so a 10-12' cable would work & not have the excess on the floor to step over.

[rustyg61]

Here's the video I promised. Please do not take my lack of enthusiasm for disappointment in any way! Quite the contrary, I was SO blown away with the build so far that I was almost speechless! Jazzyvee, I gave you a shout out in the video for my source of info on the Europa since we have talked so many times & you answered all my questions I had trying to decide what electronics I wanted  other Europa related questions. S. Wood, I also gave kudos to your amazing blue Europa as the inspiration & reason I will now own one myself!
 
The video is on You Tube, but it is unlisted so you have to have this link to access it. Please let me know if there is any issue with it not playing.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9KohyBBgvo&feature=youtu.be

[moongerm]

Very nice! Can't wait to see it with all of the Series II goodies installed. I saw a post about the CVQ center detent question.  Is that a possibility still?

[rustyg61]

Mica told me that it would be a 26 week wait to get the center indent CVQ & they didn't even tell her a price so I scrapped that idea. I will just learn to adjust the CVQ by ear the same way I did my SF-2, so it will be OK.

[rustyg61]

BTW Brian, I see this was you 1st post, welcome to the Club! I checked out some videos of your band on your website, y'all are amazing! You should post in the Introductions page & share your videos! The members here will love it!